The Key To Darkness
by asuka02redeva
Summary: Someone is after Riho for she appears to be the key to an eternal darkness, will Shido be forced to live eternity alone? Shido x Riho Pairing
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This is my first attempt for a Nightwalker story. I'm a big fan of Shido and Riho so I will advise you not to read if you are opposed to this pairing. This is an idea that I've had for quite some time, and I will be even more tempted to continue if I can get a review or two. Please enjoy, Thanks!

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Prologue: Even In Death

-

"…_Gomen nasai…" she whispered, her eyes downcast, as she stood before him, "It's not like that!" she pleaded, shaking her head to avoid the tears that threatened to seep out as she now found his back to her. _

_Shido couldn't bring himself to look at Riho, therefore, he had turned his back to her. Their fight had started over a woman who had been seen hanging around Shido, claiming to have some sort of supernatural case that needed his attention. The case had eventually led to a breed; however, Riho's distrust in the woman was what had elevated the situation. _

_Shido was still in shock after the incident with Cain and the visions that he had placed in his mind, that he had allowed his anger to get the better of him and had snapped at the one that he feared the most to lose, accusing her of merely being jealous of the woman in need and that she was acting like a child. Even now he was sorry for what he had said._

_Guni watched on, floating between the pair as she looked at Riho with her pained expression and then to Shido's back. _

"…_I'm so sorry that you think that way of me…" Riho managed to speak before slowly heading for the door. _

"_Riho wait!" cried Guni as she watched the young vampire open the front door, "Shido!" she pleaded, floating in front of him, "You can't just let her go like this!"_

_A click was heard as the door closed behind Riho…_

"…_Shido…" whispered Guni, true at first glance one would never have guessed that she had been a fan of the little twerp, however, it pained her to find two people who she cared for being in such pain. "…Why did you…"_

_Shido let out of a sigh, his shoulders slumping, at the thought of hurting Riho, "…Don't worry Guni," he tried to come off as being humble, "I'll apologize later tonight when she returns home."_

_Guni had a hopeful smile appear on her face in an instant, "…Phew…you know Riho really does care about you, I don't think she was being jealous, Shido."_

_Shido sighed again…no…there had been some things about this case that weren't adding up…_

_-_

'…_Gomen nasai…' she thought as she quietly walked down the empty side street, '…It really wasn't like that Shido-san. If you always think of me as a child, then I suppose that you will never love me, will you?' she thought bitterly, as the tears threatened to spill once more. _

_-_

"…_She's finally alone," came a voice in the shadows._

"_You're positive that her sire is not in the area, sir?" came the reply of a young man who was not as confident as his master._

"…_Positive…" came his master's answer as he smirked, watching the unsuspecting girl, "She is beautiful, however, she also holds the key to making my eternal darkness a reality…"_

_-_

_Yayoi had just left the scene of the latest crime as the tires of her car squealed into the parking garage to Shido's office building. She got out of the car and slammed the door behind her before running toward the stairwell. _

_-_

_Shido was looking over the daily newspaper, however, his thoughts were of a certain brunette who he had managed to push away earlier that day. He would certainly have to apologize the moment she arrived home. _

_It was then that he heard the sound of footsteps approaching. Guni grinned in anticipation, "Riho's back, now you can make with the begging for her forgiveness," she teased._

_Shido sweatdropped, but as the door flew open to reveal Yayoi and not Riho a serious look appeared on his face._

"…_Sh-Shido…" managed Yayoi, out of breath, as she entered the room and trying not to lose her composure, walked up to his desk and placed her palms on the desk top. _

"_Yayoi?" questioned Shido, as he looked at the NOS Agent standing before him, "Has something happened with the case?"_

"…_Shido…" she tried once more and took a deep breath, "…There's been another casualty…a young girl…"_

"_I'll get my coat," he said before standing, only to have Yayoi gently push him back down, "…I just came from the scene…" her voice was breaking, it was taking all of her willpower to not blurt out the information._

_Guni hovered beside Shido and could see the emotion in Yayoi's eyes as she tried to make him sit. "Yayoi, does it look like a breed did it?"_

_Yayoi couldn't bring herself to nod or shake her head as she stared into Shido's eyes, "…The girl…" she took a deep breath, "…it was Riho…"_

_Shido's eyes widened in shock after hearing Yayoi's statement, "What are you…what are you, talking about?" he mumbled in disbelief as Yayoi leaned back to give him room._

_Guni, trying not to show her alarm decided to make with the jokes, "Haha…very funny Yayoi, seriously, what happened?" she questioned, crossing her arms over her chest._

_Yayoi didn't know if she could bring herself to describing the scene but she knew she would have to try if she were going to bring the vampire to acceptance. "…It's no joke," she whispered, her voice almost lifeless, "…I received a call from NOS not long before I arrived. A young girl was found dead…" _

_-_

_Flashback…_

"_A girl?" questioned Yayoi, from her car phone, "I'll be right there!" _

_As she pulled into the crime scene, police officers were trying to hold people back behind the yellow tape. Yayoi showed her badge to one of the officers and was allowed access. _

"_What do we have here?" she began, standing next to one of the officers._

"_Young girl, beautiful little thing too I'd imagine," began the officer, as he slid up his glasses after handing her the crime folder._

"_Any idea of what she died from?" Yayoi could see the officer cringe after she had asked her question. "That bad?"_

"…_Ma'am, I don't think you really want to know about this one…" warned the officer, trying to spare her._

"_Sir, it's my job…" she replied before heading toward the body in mention. She sat down and carefully pulled back the blanket to reveal, "…Riho…" she nearly fell to her knees in shock. "…Oh my god…"_

_Yayoi looked down at the lifeless body of her young friend. Her throat had been cut leaving her surrounded in a pile of crimson, and hardly a place on her body spared from what would appear to be knife markings._

"…_Yeah…it looks like they didn't want to take any chances of our poor little thing living, so they slit her wrists too…" whispered the officer, taking his hat from his head as he looked down at the poor young woman before him._

_-_

"…_Shido…" whispered Yayoi after she had informed him of the horrid image that she had witnessed._

_Shido merely sat in his chair in awe; no this wasn't right, it wasn't supposed to be like this._

'…_She was supposed to be with me for eternity…right?' he thought, 'This is some horrible image created by Cain, I'll wake up, soon…and when I do I'll find Riho in the kitchen making coffee or arguing with Guni…'_

_Guni had tears in her eyes, "…No…not Riho…it couldn't have been!" she pleaded with the NOS Agent. "It's not possible!"_

_Yayoi averted her gaze as she looked down in shame, which only confirmed the worse to Guni. She looked back to Shido who had the same terrified look on his face, as he had when he had awoken from Cain's dream. _

"_I have to see her," he whispered, so low at first that Yayoi thought that she had been hearing things, until he repeated the statement._

"…_Shido, no…you shouldn't…she's too…" _

_Guni wiped her eyes with the back of her hand; she knew what Yayoi was trying to say. Shido merely stood up, and grabbed his coat. _

"_Either tell me where she is or drive me there," he stated his voice almost void of emotion._

_-_

_As Yayoi pulled out the drawer in the morgue, Guni popped out of her hair, only to later regret doing so._

"…_Oh this can't be!" she cried out after taking one look at the lifeless girl before her eyes._

_The smell of death was all around them, and Shido could not pinpoint Riho's exact essence. _

_Yayoi had to turn her head from the sight, it was far too much for a second glance. She thought it best to leave Shido, for having a woman there to watch him mourn wasn't nearly as bad as the thoughts that must be raging through his mind._

_-_

_Shido looked down at the pale young woman before him, as he gently placed his hand on one of her own. No life would come from her now, and he could see why Yayoi had not wanted him to come. The girl that had pledged herself to him, to walk in eternal darkness, with him, was no longer beautiful to the eye after someone or something had finished with her. _

'…_Riho…no…this truly can't be real. You were supposed to stay with me…Gomen that I made you cry earlier…' he whispered, the tears now escaping as he brought her cold hand to his lips. '…I know now that you were just concerned about me…but please…if this is a dream let me wake up…'_

_-_

_Riho slowly opened her eyes, the smells around her were unfamiliar and she could sense someone in the room with her. Her eyes slowly focused, she felt drugged, and that was when her eyes opened wide in realization._

_-_

_Flashback…_

_She had been completely absorbed in her thoughts of Shido that she had only sensed the presence of another too late. She winced as she felt an arm wrap around her from behind and another covering her mouth. Before she could bring herself to fight, she felt a needle in the side of her neck. Before losing consciousness she could make out the sound of a man, "…Beautiful…help me for you are the key…"_

_-_

'…_Where am I?' she thought, as she took in her surroundings. She was in a room, much similar to her bedroom at her old apartment; however, there were no windows and the door in the room, after further observation was obviously locked._

_She took a step back trying to get her thoughts in order as she felt the presence behind her. Riho gasped as a strong arm wrap around her waist from behind, pulling her into the embrace of a man, his other hand rested on her cheek as he whispered in her ear, "How do you like your new home, beautiful?" _

_-_

_Alright! Thanks for reading, like it? Then please send a review and I'll continue!_


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Thank you Sailorx161 and Atira Rin for reviewing. I really appreciate it and I hope that you enjoy chapter 1.

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Chapter 1: Away From Me

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Shido awakened that evening, for a brief moment he had forgotten yesterday's events; however, as soon as his eyes came into focus and there was no trace of the brunette that he had come accustomed to, the memories came flooding back to him.

-

Riho closed her eyes, the tears ran down her cheeks as the man behind her held her incapacitated. She could feel his lips on her neck; however, he easily out powered her.

"Don't cry beautiful, don't you like your new home?" he whispered, a broad smile appearing on his face.

"Why…why are you doing this?" she responded, her brown eyes consumed by fear. His presence was so strong, almost intoxicatingly so, it had rendered her from moving.

"You have something that I want. You see, I've waited a long time for someone like you Riho," he replied, "you are rare even for our breed. You possess the ability to be a great aid to me, in my goal."

"Your goal?" she questioned, her tears had ceased for now as she stood a victim in his arms.

"Yes, my goal is to achieve eternal darkness, but in order to do that I need someone who is worthy to stay by my side."

Riho tensed as he finished his sentence. He wanted her to stay by his side? What made him believe that she was worthy? Also, she had already pledged her eternity to another…

-

Guni had tried to start the coffee that morning, in hopes that perhaps the smell would put Shido at ease; however, when everything had been far too heavy to carry, she had quickly thought otherwise. Besides, it wasn't like coffee could replace the missing presence in the office.

She heard the door to Shido's room open and did her best to put on a good front for him.

"Shido, about time you woke up. I thought we could get out of here for a while," she announced, hopeful that he would take up her offer, because being in the office without Riho was depressing.

Shido, surprisingly enough had decided to take up her offer. Yayoi had promised to keep them informed of the case, but it hadn't looked like there was any shred of evidence found to convict anyone for Riho's death.

-

"I can't be with you for eternity, I have already pledged—

The man smiled, gently caressing her cheek as he whispered, "Your sire will not look for you, my dear."

Riho's eyes widened in confusion, "You obviously don't know Shido," she tried to sound confident, "he won't rest until he finds me. Do you think he's just going to sit around when I don't come home?"

"Oh, but he has found you," informed her host, he was pleased when he heard her startled gasp and before she could reply he continued, "You see Riho, he found your dead body last night in an alley."

Riho tried to turn her face toward him but the hand on her cheek prevented her from doing so, "What do you mean?" she tried to sound brave, but if what he was saying was in deed the truth then Shido wouldn't…no…she couldn't believe that!

"You were very wise to not trust the young woman who was involved with your most recent case," he could feel her stiffen, "she was a breed, therefore, it wasn't very hard for me to convince her to take your form. You see, Riho, she sold her soul to me a long time ago and dare I say it, that she was infatuated with me. She took your form and then…" his voice trailed off, before it began again, Riho already knew her answer, "…I killed her…"

-

Shido had walked nonstop since he had left his apartment. Guni let out a sigh as she popped her head up, from being buried in his hair.

"Shido, you know…it's alright to talk about her…" she began, treading cautiously as she glanced over at his solemn face as he walked with his hands in his coat pockets.

"I just don't understand how this could have happened," he merely stated as he found himself once more in front of his office door.

"I know, I mean it's so unreal the idea that when we walk in there the twerp isn't going to greet us with that silly grin of hers," Guni replied with a sigh.

"I feel responsible," Shido mumbled, his hand on the door, yet his body unwilling to turn the knob just yet.

"Shido…" began Guni as she thought of the best approach, "You know it wasn't your fault. None of us could have known what would happen to Riho when she left."

"I should have gone after her when she left. I should have never let her go…"

-

"So now you see my dear, your sire will not be searching for you," he grinned as he resumed kissing her neck, which sent shivers down her back.

'_Shido…he won't be coming for me. No, this can't be! Tell me it's all a lie…this is a dream, a horrible dream, and I'll wake up from it and find myself at home, won't I?' she thought, before her thoughts were shaken from her._

Riho's eyes widened as her captor forcefully turned her around, revealing himself to be a tall man around six feet, handsome and well built, with midnight blue eyes and short raven hair with bangs that fell on either side of his face, "I don't wish for you to despise me, Riho," he whispered as he held her in his arms.

She could feel herself being drawn to his voice, she could feel herself unable to control her body, her mind yelled for her to push him away, however, her body would not respond. Before his lips fell on hers she whispered, "…What is your name?"

"It's Haru," he replied as he watched her eyes slowly begin to close.

"…Haru…" she mumbled before falling into her dreams.

-

How long had Shido been standing in the doorway of his office? How long had it been since he had began staring toward the kitchen, almost expecting Riho to come around the corner at any moment? And how long would it take before realization dawned on him that she truly would never be standing there again?

Guni noticed that it was nearly dawn and sighed as she watched Shido put his jacket on the coat rack. She really did feel badly for him, after all, Riho had really just become a member of Shido's family.

At first she wondered if Cain could have been behind all of this, merely toying with Shido as he had been known to do in the past, but unfortunately that had not been the case.

-

_Flashback_

_Shido held his head in his hands, it had been shortly after Yayoi had dropped him off at his office. Guni had decided it best to not speak of Riho, or anything for that matter but merely respect his privacy in the whole matter. _

_She had decided that going to bed would be best at this moment, at least when she slept she wouldn't have to see Shido with that pained expression etched onto his face, as his guilt over Riho ate him alive. Just as she was about to say goodnight though, she noticed darkness pouring across the room._

"_Shido…" whispered that familiar voice, as she slowly turned back toward Shido at his desk._

_Shido looked up to find Cain, the one who had made his life a living hell; then it dawned on him, why was Cain here? _

"_Cain! What the hell are you doing here?!" he spat, quickly standing up from behind his desk._

_Cain smiled and stopped a few feet in front of him, "Shido, I have merely come to see how you are managing. Can I not worry about you?" _

"_You bastard, like you've ever cared about my feelings, and how the hell did you know what I was feeling?" asked Shido, now arching an eyebrow, feeling confident that Cain must have had something to do with Riho's death._

"_Shido, I am your sire after all. I will always know when you are in pain, that you cannot change. As for the girl—_

_Shido cut his sentence short as he slammed his first onto the top of his desk, "Did you…was it you?"_

_Cain sighed, seeing Shido's hurt expression and knowing that he could not take any pleasure in having caused it had hit a nerve within him, "No, Shido. I did not kill her, in fact, I was sorry to know that she was gone," he stated with a smirk appearing on his face, "she would have been a wonderful asset to me, I could have used her as my—_

_Cain's sentence never finished for Shido's hand had latched onto his throat at lightning speed._

"_I would have never allowed for that to happen! Don't ever speak of her again…do you hear me?" Shido warned through grit teeth, his anger evident in his voice._

_Cain smirked as he effortlessly removed Shido's hand from his throat, "Well then, you finally know how I felt when I lost you, now don't you?" he questioned, before disappearing into the darkness._

-

Guni sighed as she quietly locked up the office after catching Shido's retreating form going into his bedroom, and hearing the door softly click behind him.

-

That's it for now. Hope you enjoyed.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2: Dreaming Of You

-

_Her voice was calling to him in the darkness…but she was still unobtainable to him no matter how hard he tried, the darkness never ended._

"_Shido-san? Shido-san, please answer me!" her voice rang out causing him to turn and take off running toward its source._

'_That voice, it's so familiar,' thought the vampire as he continued to head toward her voice, his eyes widened when he came to the end of a corridor to find a beautiful girl with flowing auburn hair and a black Victorian styled dress standing with her back to him, his blood ran cold, "R-Riho?"_

_She slowly turned, her brown eyes large, as she brought her hand to cover her mouth, "Shido-san…you came?" she whispered in awe. _

_He felt as though his feet had a mind of their own as he started toward her, he could make out the flowing tears streaming down her cheeks, her eyes glistening as she took a step toward him. _

"_Riho…where have you been? I've been searching every where for you…" informed her sire, reaching out his hand to her._

"_You really came for me," stated the young vampire, holding out her hand to grasp his own. _

_His hand never came though, for she was snatched away by the darkness once more and her cries echoed throughout the corridor…_

-

Shido sat up with a bolt; it was that same dream again. Every time he fell asleep whether at his desk or in his coffin he would have the reoccurring dream, and each time he saw her face and her glistening tears his human heart would tighten.

Why did she have to plague his dreams? And what was the darkness that caused for her to be unobtainable to him? Was it his guilt that created the sick scene or was it something more?

'_Riho…I miss you more than I thought I would…' _thought the vampire as he sat at his desk, _'How long has it been since you left me?' _

His eyes drifted to the calendar, he could now see that it was June, Riho's favorite time of the year when all of the flowers would be in full bloom, especially the sunflowers—her favorite. She had died in April, and a week after her death was when the dreams began.

At first he would find himself in a manor and her voice would echo throughout the establishment. She was always calling for him, calling to him with that voice so sweet and loving that he would race to the top of the stairs to find her. How she would cry and he could hear her sobs ricochet down the multiple hallways, she would whisper her desires of seeing him once more, and when he would call her name he would hear no reply.

It wasn't until recently that he had been able to see her, for she would appear to him, beautiful and her features frozen in time before him, in an elegant black dress with white ballroom gloves, her flowing auburn hair trailing down her back as she stared at him in disbelief. When she came to him it was so real, far more lucid than any dream, it was as though she was really standing before him, reaching out to him, and pleading to return to him yet some unknown force was preventing her from doing so.

His thoughts were broken as the front door flew open to reveal Yayoi in the doorway, "Shido, we've got a case and it looks to be right up your alley," she informed, before walking into the office and placing a manila envelope on his desk.

Shido took the envelope and upon opening it pulled out its contents. He arched an eyebrow, his eyes falling on a stack of crime scene photos.

"Yayoi, these people…"

"Hai, they all appear to have suffered from severe blood loss," she replied, pointing precisely to the victims' necks, "do you think Cain is in town?"

"Cain's specialty isn't dumping bodies in alleys or gutters," began the lavender haired detective, "but it's definitely worth looking into. Is there a certain area where the killings are occurring?"

Yayoi couldn't help but smile, Shido was back, maybe not entirely but this case couldn't have come at a better time.

-

Riho awoke with a start, _'Shido-san…I have to see him…I need more than just our brief nightly visits.'_

Her eyes narrowed upon hearing the door of her room open, she had to see him tonight, even if she couldn't risk talking to him…

_Riho closed her eyes, if everything that Haru had said was in deed true then she couldn't risk seeing Shido. Haru was truly as power a vampire as Cain and as much as she wanted to run to Shido's arms, she knew first hand of dealing with a vampire of Cain's level. _

_Haru smirked as his lips left her own, things were going nicely. Her sire thought that she had died months ago, and once the preparations were finished they would be leaving this city and heading to Europe. It amazed him how easy it was to keep her at his side. It was true that she was very bound to Shido, but in time she would see that her sire could not give her the life that was desired of any vampire. _

_With her at his side his eternal darkness would be achieved, for she possesses powers far beyond her level of knowledge and he would be the one to help her realize her own worth. Far more than her pathetic sire could ever hope to. _

_One thing still bothered him though, why would she not feed with him? She would rather take her blood cold, long after the human was dead, then drink with him. Was she still bound by her human heart? It was truly troublesome…_

-

It had been hours since Yayoi and Shido had split up to scout the area. Guni had gone with Yayoi so that in case of an emergency she could alert Shido. Shido had examined the latest body briefly before heading to the locations where the other bodies had been discovered. Something definitely did not feel right; it wasn't until he passed by a manor on his way to one of the sites that his sense of smell alerted him.

'_That smell…' his eyes widened, at the thought, 'it smells like her…' he found himself mesmerized by the establishment in front of him and slowly opened the gates. 'It's just like my dream…'_

-

She quickly caught her breath, leaning up against a wall in one of the corridors of the old establishment. It was only a matter of time before she was found and forced to return to Haru, but her desire to see Shido was enormously strong. She just needed to see him alive and well before she would be satisfied, just one last time to know if he was alright.

She knew that Haru would return and find the servant knocked out in her bedroom, so time was precious to her now. When she had first found herself out of the room she realized that her living quarters were underground of a rather large establishment, and as she had found herself up to the ground floor it was only then that she became aware of the fact that she was living in a run down early Victorian manor of sorts obviously hidden on the outskirts of the city.

Her breath caught in her lungs as she heard the front door open…

-

Shido began cautiously, stepped through the front doorway to find a poorly lit, spacious walkway. His vampire eyes were the only thing that allowed him to see a set of stairs before him, ones that he would have known anywhere. His eyes widened as a familiar essence invaded his senses before slowly starting up the stairs.

-

"Yayoi, this is getting us nowhere!" whined Guni, popping out from Yayoi's hair, "Maybe Shido's having better luck than we are?"

"Perhaps we shouldn't have let Shido go off on his own," questioned Yayoi, "I wonder if he can really handle this if he does come across a vampire or even a breed?"

Guni let out a sigh, "Yeah, he's been so down since Riho's death, I've never seen him like this."

"Riho became a constant in Shido's life, Guni, it's only natural that he would take her death to heart," she replied, walking back to her car, "I'm returning to NOS, perhaps some new leads have come in."

-

Shido turned the corner leading down the corridor, his could feel his blood turning cold, each intricate detail was the same as in his dream, his footsteps softly echoing as he moved.

-

Riho gasped quietly, and quickly headed down the corridor, she was certain that Haru had returned and if she was caught there was no hope of ever seeing Shido again. She had overheard Haru speaking to one of his servants about Europe and departing sometime soon, and if she didn't take this chance tonight then she would live all eternity never knowing if Shido was alright without her.

The darkness was blinding, if it wasn't for her vampire eyes she would have surely tripped or gotten lost within the walls of the manor's labyrinth. She stopped as the hallway before her split off trying to decide which way to head.

However, her decision was hastened as she heard footsteps coming toward her. She quickly opened the door to the first room she saw and quietly closed it behind her, as she slowly backed away from the door.

-

Shido was certain now that this was the manor from his dreams and each step heightened his anticipation, the familiar essence was wafting through the corridor and he could see the end drawing closer.

It felt like a lifetime before he reached its ending and turned left, however, his keen sense of hearing alerted him of a noise coming from the right, in one of the rooms to be precise. He cautiously stood outside of the door to the room and prepared himself for a battle, as he slowly took the knob in hand and turned it.

The door slowly pushed open as he stood in the doorway, within the room he could make out a dusty bureau, a table and two chairs positioned near the window, and a tattered sofa, indicating that the room must have been a sitting room at one time. However, none of this mattered when his gaze locked on a silent figure standing in the corner of the room cast within the darkness.

He opened the door wider to allow the moonlight shining through the hallway window to fall into the room, and his eyes widened in response as he found a girl with flowing auburn hair and a black dress standing in the corner with her back to him.

His movements were slow and forced as he found himself walking toward her, the words caught in his throat, before managing to speak, "…Riho…"

Slowly she turned toward him, her eyes falling on the form of the lavender haired vampire; she stood in shock for a moment before the tears finally fell from her brown eyes and cascaded down her pale cheeks.

"Shido…you're really here?" her voice was no more than a whisper, before her eyes widened in awe at his actions.

Shido was in front of her in an instant, if she was really a breed then he would be dead soon, but he didn't care, he would take the risk. She was so close to him now, his hands resting on her arms, his lips so close to her neck, as he inhaled her essence.

It was that same familiar essence, the one that he had become so accustomed to waking up with every morning, there was no way a breed could mimic her scent. He was her sire after all, his very blood coursed through her veins. He looked up the moment her tear drop made contact with his cheek.

"Riho…" he breathed her name and crushed her to him as he wrapped his arms around her crying form.

Her wide brown eyes let loose an on sought of tears, realizing that it really was her sire before her. He was alright and she had gotten her wish.

"Shido-san," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his back, and holding him close, "Shido-san, I missed you so much…"

Shido couldn't get enough of her essence, she was really there, this wasn't a dream, he ran his fingers through her soft auburn tresses, "Riho, how can you really be here?"

She pressed her cheek up against his own and cried, "I don't have time to explain, Shido-san, and I would have come to you if I could. I wanted to see you so badly."

He felt her hand cupping the side of his face as he held her closer, "Riho, who is keeping you away? What happened when you left my office? I saw your body at the morgue."

"His name is Haru," she whispered almost reluctant to speak his name in the presence of her sire, she could already feel his body tense up, "he's…"

His body became rigid as the question was uttered, "Did he touch you?"

She pressed her cheek against his once more, "…Hai…" she gasped feeling him move away from her, her worst fears were now running through her mind, as she watched his eyes.

"Gomen nasai, Riho. I should have never ignored you for so long, you were dream walking and I was too caught up in my own emotional turmoil to realize that you were suffering as much as I," he apologized, his eyes softening, "I won't let you suffer anymore."

Her eyes followed his in confusion, "You still want me?" she questioned, almost in disbelief.

"Riho, you pledged yourself to me for all eternity, and I can't live an eternity without you," he whispered, watching as the tears continued to flow down her pale cheeks, before bringing his hands to cup the sides of her face.

"I can't leave him," she whispered, the tears continuing to fall, "he'll kill you…his control over me is too strong, I can always hear his voice in my head."

"There's no stronger bond then the one that you and I share, Riho," he informed her, wiping away her tears, "trust me enough to protect you, I won't leave here without you."

"…But…" her voice was stopped as she felt his lips upon hers, letting out a sigh, "you don't have to do this…I've been with him, I know you must hate me…"

Shido's emerald eyes bore into her brown orbs, "I could never hate you, Riho…it makes me sick to think that he's touched you, I won't lie, but believe me when I say that I'm not doing this for any reasons beyond the fact that I want to," he informed, watching a small smile appear on her face before closing her eyes once more, before he covered her lips with his once more.

"…Shido…" she breathed his name, before wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him close, "please don't leave me…"

-

Been a while, hope that I will get a few reviews for this chapter and that you enjoyed!


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